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Danielson Aligned Lesson Plan Template for Formal Observations

Yunjung Hong
Formal Observation #4 Lesson Plan
Primary Subject Area and Grade Level: List the primary content area for this lesson. List the beginning and ending grade levels for
which this lesson is appropriate.

Science
Language Arts and Social Studies integration
Grade 5
Interdisciplinary Connections: Provide a listing of the subject area(s), in addition to the primary subject area that is incorporated in this
lesson.
(1a: Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy)

This is mainly a science lesson because the infographics and posters will be on a specific invasive
insect that they were assigned. The whole project will be about their insect; however there are bits of
language arts and social studies involved. In the future students will be making a public service
announcement about their insect, they must mention geography of the insect, and include what is/will
be done about this invasive species problem. These are some ways they will be including social
studies.
As for language arts, one non-fiction text is required for their research. This gives students the
opportunity to effectively read non-fiction texts and include it into their presentation. They will also
focus on text features, and components of a poster presentation such as captions, visuals, and citations.
Lesson Duration: State the approximate time frame for this lesson.
(1e: Designing Coherent Instruction)

The lesson all together will take approximately 40 minutes.

There will be 10 minutes of instruction for the mini-lesson.
25 minutes for group research.
Final 5 minutes on wrap up and tapping into future plans of the project.
Relevance/Rationale: Consider how your outcomes and plan will engage students cognitively and build understanding. Why are the lesson
outcomes important in the real world? How is this lesson relevant to students in this class (interests, cultural heritages, needs)?
(1b: Demonstrating Knowledge of Students)

I have found that the students are already engaged in this project because it is mainly science. Students
are beginning their insect collecting kits so the fact that the project is about an invasive insect is
engaging them to a whole new level.
This lesson will show students how to effectively create a poster/infographic. When elementary
students create posters for science fairs and projects, I have found that they are often parent generated,
or just poorly made. This will give students the opportunity to effectively create a poster that is
pleasing to the audience. It relates to the real world because as they continue on to middle school,
teachers will be using this method (posters, visuals, models, etc.) as an end of unit assessment to check
for understanding. Also in middle school, students must take advantage of the rubric, whatever they
create must be organized in an attractive way based on what the rubric says to get the highest store
they possibly can.
This will also help the students fulfill research requirements that they will need in the future. For
example, I will ask for at least one text source and three internet sources which is the minimum
requirement for middle school and on. It will encourage the students to use printed text to find
information rather than relying on the internet. This will also help them on correctly citing texts and
internet sources in their work.
Outcomes/Objectives: What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson? Outcomes should be written in the form of
student learning and suggest viable methods of assessment. For teachers of English language learners: What language objectives will be
addressed?
(1c: Setting Instructional Outcomes)

Students will be able to determine the criteria for an effective poster presentation.

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Students will be able to design a poster that effectively shares their research (long term).
Students will learn about invasive species and why they are a threat to the environment, specifically in
the state of New Jersey (long term).
Content Standard(s) and/or Common Core Learning Standard(s): For example: (CCSS) 4.NBT.3 Use place value
understanding to round multi-digit whole numbers to any place. Content area teachers should include appropriate English Language Arts
Common Core Standards for Content Areas, if appropriate, in addition to content standards.
(1c: Setting Instructional Outcomes)

5-LS2-1- Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers,
and the environment (Ecosystems).

3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified
criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each
is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
RI.5.7- Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate
an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
RI.5.9- Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the
subject knowledgeably.
RI.5.10- By the end of the year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social
studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade 4-5 text complexity band
independently and proficiently.
W.5.7- Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through
investigation of different aspects of a topic.
W.5.8- Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and
digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of
sources.
Use of Formative Assessment to Inform Planning: Describe your students current levels of understanding of the content related to
the outcome for this lesson. What are some of the indicators that let you know that these outcomes and the lesson activities represent the
appropriate amount of cognitive challenge for all students?
(1f: Designing Student Assessments)

The students are aware of conducting research and organizing the research onto a PowerPoint and
presenting it. Their presentation skills lack a little based on the requirements of expectations of a 6th
grade teachers. They have presented their social studies projects on wild life preservation to the class,
however they needed more practice and guidance. They have also made posters before but are
unaware of the specific Dos and Donts.
For the project I will provide a rubric. Students must use the rubric to gain the highest grade for the
project. This challenges the groups to effectively use their time and strategize how they will complete
the project. They have used rubrics before in the Great Egg Scramble, the rubric broke up points of
the whole project so they were able to utilized and manipulate how to gain or lose points but still have
the high enough score to win.
Class Information: Describe any unique characteristics of the class (considerations may include: special needs, language levels, learning
styles, etc.). Describe how other adults (paraprofessionals, volunteers, co-teachers, resource teachers, etc.) will support student learning, if
applicable. Also include any other circumstances an observer should know about.
(1b: Knowledge of Students)

We have a new student in the classroom who has been here for about 2 weeks now. I am still unaware
of his academic standing and learning levels. This was difficult because I did not know which group to
put him into. I put him in a group with 3 other students instead of 2 because I thought this was a great
opportunity to interact with students in the classroom who are not seated near him. This project
requires lots of communication between all of the members so I thought the more people he in his
group the more relationships he can create, which can be hard if you are a new student in the district
from a different state.
In this classroom there are 5 students with IEPs, I will have to incorporate modifications of the
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students into the lesson. There are students with attention deficits which I plan on engaging with turn
and talk and engaging actions like thumbs up activities. Choosing these students as volunteers will
allow them to stay focused. My cooperating teachers will support students learning by making sure
students are on tasks and participate in the lesson when asked. If students are falling off track both of
my cooperating teachers will guide then back into the lesson. They will assist me with the behavior
and classroom management but not the content of the lesson.
I will keep a close eye on those students who are easily distracted, and have total participation
techniques throughout the lesson to keep them engaged.
I also have a media assistant that takes photographs, records videos of me while I teach. He will be
walking around and sitting in the back snapping photos of me. If he gets distracted by this task, he will
have to drop the job and focus on the lesson. I also told the student if he cannot appropriately assist me
I will have to choose another student for the job.
This lesson is a part of a long term project that the students have already started. They have done some
research on their invasive insects and should soon be ready to put it together on a poster soon.
Overview: Provide a brief overview of the lesson. The overview should provide the observer with a description of the lessons content and how
it relates to the larger unit. Include prerequisite knowledge required to meet lesson outcomes and relationship to future learning.
(1a: Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy)

The lesson will begin with students moved to the carpet. This is where I will hold my mini-lesson on
what an effective infographic and poster includes, dos and donts, determining what is appropriate
and not. I will show students a poster and think aloud on what I think about the poster. I will then
show 2 different posters of the same science fair topic projects (Cookie Science). Students will have to
use their knowledge and a 60 second poster evaluation sheet to determine what is good and bad
about each poster, and ultimately determine which the better poster is. I will then allow students to go
back to their seats to continue their research on their invasive insect. If the students are far along with
their research I will provide them with poster paper so they can begin working on their actual poster
presentation. With 5 minutes remaining, I will gather the students up to talk about the plans and
outline for the rest of this project.
Technologies and Other Materials /Resources: List all materials, handouts, resources, and technology tools that are needed by the
student or the teacher to execute the lesson. Technologies may include hardware, software, and websites, etc. Materials and resources may
include physical resources (e.g. books, manipulatives, supplies, equipment, etc.) and/or people resources (e.g. guest speakers, librarian, etc.).
(1d: Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources)

Students will use their Chromebooks to continue research on their invasive insect.
Poster for the students if they are ready to begin adding their materials.
I will need poster paper or white board, and markers for my anchor chart and objective.
I will have an easel for my anchor chart.
I will need a projector to project the photo of the 2 posters on Cookie Science
(https://student.societyforscience.org/blog/eureka-lab/cookie-science-17-posters-%E2%80%94-goodand-bad)

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(Bad)

(Good)
The 60 second poster evaluation that I changed up a little bit was originally from
https://ncsu.edu/project/posters/60second.html.

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60-Second Poster Evaluation

George Hess - NC State University - Forestry Department
Rating Criteria - Circle rating that applies.
Overall Appearance
0 Cluttered or sloppy appearance. Gives the impression of a solid mass of text and graphics, or
pieces are scattered and disconnected. Little white space.
1 Pleasant to look at. Pleasing use of colors, text, and graphics.
2 Very pleasing to look at. Particularly nice colors and graphics.
White Space
0 Very little. Gives the impression of a solid mass of text and graphics.
1 OK. Too much white space or still not enough white space does not provide a rest of audiences
eyes.
2 Perfect. Sections of the poster are separated from one another.
Text / Graphics Balance
0 Too much text. The poster gives an overwhelming impression of text only. OR Not enough text.
Cannot understand what the graphics are supposed to relate.
1 Balanced. Text and graphics are evenly dispersed in the poster. There seems to be enough text to
explain the graphics.
Text Size
0
0.5
1
2

Too small to view comfortably from a distance of 1-1.5 meters.

Main text OK, but text in figures too small.
Easy to read from 1-1.5 meters.
Very easy to read.

Organization and Flow

0 Cannot figure out how to move through poster.
1 Implicit. Headings (Introduction, Methods, etc) or other device implies organization and flow.
2 Explicit numbering, column bars, row bars, etc.
Author Identification
0 None.
1 Partial. Not enough information to contact author without further research. This includes missing zip
codes on addresses.
2 Complete. Enough information to contact author by mail, phone, or e-mail without further research.
Main Points
0 Can't find.
1 Present, but not obvious. May be imbedded in monolithic blocks of text.
2 Explicitly labeled (e.g., "Main Points", "Conclusions", "Results").
Distractions

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0 Lots. Too many distractions that take away from the poster.
1 Few, They are present, but do not add nor take away from the poster (not needed).
2 None There is nothing that is causing a distraction.
Grouping Strategy: Describe how you will group students to facilitate learning of the outcomes of this lesson. What is the rationale for the
grouping strategy?
(1e: Designing Coherent Instruction)

The students are groups into groups or 3 or 4. There are a total of 8 groups and 4 different insects. This
means that 2 groups have the same insect. The reason that I decided on assigning 2 groups to the same
insect is because I thought students will be more motivated with a little competition. Students this age
are very competitive so seeing another group with the same insect might stimulate their will to do their
best.
As for the groups themselves, I randomly assigned students into groups based on how well I thought
they worked with other students. We have done lots of partnerships, and group activities in the
classroom so I was aware of which students could not be together and which could. I also took into
consideration all of the students strengths and weaknesses so the groups can be will balanced.

Academic Vocabulary: What key terms are essential to this content? What terms are essential to develop and extend students vocabulary?
(1a: Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy; 1b: Knowledge of Students)

Infographic: are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge intended to present
information quickly and clearly.

Lesson Procedures: The procedures should clearly describe the sequence of learning activities and should identify where and how all
materials, technology tools and student-created technology products, and reproducible materials/handouts are utilized in the lesson. Describe the
lesson sequence:

How will the lesson launch?

How will the material be presented?

What questions will be posed to the students? What are the expected responses?

How and when will the teacher model?

What opportunities will there be for guided practice, group work and individual practice?

How and when will you monitor student understanding throughout the lesson?

What opportunities will there be for reflection and closure?

Include approximate time allocations for each portion of the lesson. Be very precise when explaining the teacher and student tasks during the
learning activities.
(1a: Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy; 1e: Designing Coherent
Instruction)

Students will make their way over to the carpet to begin the mini-lesson.
I will call on a student to read the objective for the lesson that is written on the board that states,
Students will be able to determine the criteria for an effective poster presentation.
Begin by referring back to what they have been working on in science for our projects, So lately all
of you have been researchers correct? students respond We have been researching about your

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specific invasive insect, so that makes you scientist in a way. So today I will be teaching you how to
use that research and make a poster out of it. Now I know most of you have made posters before,
however there are specific requirements that really make the poster effective.
I will introduce my anchor chart with different parts of a poster. (Title, visuals, words, blank space,
sources, color, placement, author, distractions)
I will go through each one of the parts of a poster. I can ask the students for example; Every poster
must have a title, but what about the title specifically do we need to focus one Students can come up
with an answer so the anchor chart can be student generated. I will do this for all of the components of
a poster. While I do so, students will be able to take notes on what is written on the anchor chart.
1. Title needs to be large, visible, eye catching, the first thing you see.
2. Visuals-not too large or too small, should be labeled, in color, have a caption if needed.
3. Words/information- large enough to read from 5 feet away, not paragraphs worth of
information, needs to be placed straight, no spelling errors.
4. Black space- have enough blank space to give the eyes a rest, do not fill blank space with
distractions.
5. Sources- all sources listed bottom corner of the poster.
6. Color- the poster is not just black and white but color is present to give the poster
personality.
I will try my best to make this student generated answers, and I will fill in the parts that the students
do not get. After the anchor chart is finished, I will allow students to try to evaluate come posters.
Okay researchers, we now know what is good v.s. bad poster entails. Do you think you will be able to
grade a poster if you saw one? I am going to hand out a 60 second poster evaluation sheet out. I am
going to show you two different posters. It is a poster from a science fair and both students completed
it on the same topic. It is called Cookie Science I want you to fill out the evaluation sheet based off
what you see. After you grade both you will determine which one you liked better.
I will allow students to do this assignment quietly. They will have one minute per poster. After they
are done they can turn and talk to their partners to discuss which they liked better. We can quickly
discuss as a class what is good or bad about each poster.
The first poster has lots of mistakes including:
1. Too much white space. The poster is white and the text and graphs are in white.
2. Unlabeled tables and charts
3. Spelling errors- Science is spelled sicence
4. Distractions-Christmas lights, different colors for every letter, sub-heading are written in
different forms.
5. Very inconsistent- writing, typing, 3D paint causes there to be no consistency.
To end the mini-lesson, I will leave the students with the 3 Cs when it comes to posters
1. Creativity
2. Clarity
3. Consistency
Now that you know the expectations I have for these posters, you will get a chance to work on them.
I have poster paper here for those who are ready. You can begin putting your poster together as a
group, however if you are not finished with your research or have anything printed, you can continue
researching and typing your information.
Allow students to get into groups and work on their projects for about 25 minutes. Give out poster
paper to those who are ready. Send groups out in the hallway if they are working on their poster.
Okay scientist! Now that we have worked on our posters for a little bit lets clean up and get back to
our individual seats. Let us take a look back at our objective. Do you think you are not able to evaluate
a poster? If yes, can you apply this knowledge on making your own science poster? To look at what
we will be doing in the future, I will give the students the due date of the poster. I will tell them that it
would be great if they can print the materials at home, bring it in and put the poster together during

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class time. We will not allow students to take home their posters because it is a group effort.
Differentiation: Describe how you will differentiate instruction for a variety of learners, including students will special needs, English
Language Learners, and high achieving students to ensure that all students have access to and are able to engage appropriately in this lesson.
Be specific.
(1e: Designing Coherent Instruction)

One form of differentiation is the grouping, I grouped the students heterogeneously. Each group has
one high achieving student and the other students have other strengths that they can bring to the group.
Assessment Criteria for Success:

How and when will you assess student learning throughout the lesson (formative)?
How will you and your students know if they have successfully met the outcomes?
What is the criteria for mastery of the lesson outcome(s)?
Describe any (formative and summative) assessments to be used.
(1f: Designing Student Assessments)

During the lesson, I will have a carpet activity to check their understanding. When they complete their
60 second evaluation on the 2 different posters I can use these as an assessment.
The long term assessment is the final poster. If students used what they learned in the lesson, then their
poster will be an appealing visual of the research they have completed on their invasive insect. If not
then I know that the students still needs some help stepping back from the poster and looking at the
big picture that the poster provides.
The final assessment will be the final project as a whole. Students will have to follow the rubric that is
given to them as a guide to provide an adequate presentation with all the information asked. The rubric
includes a section about the poster so they must work on getting the highest score in this section. I
will also see if they used the non-fiction text given to them in the invasive insect library and if it is
correctly cited and paraphrased. This will also give me the opportunity to see if they effectively
withdrew information from the non-fiction text.
Anticipated Difficulties: What difficulties or possible misunderstanding do you anticipate that students may encounter? How will you
prevent them from occurring?
(1a: Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy)

This lesson is the beginning of the poster project. If the poster boards are handed out, then the students
will get overly excited about the whole project. Students may just want to begin without concern about
the rubric and what they have just learned. They may want to complete it for the sake of having it
done. I am also concerned about the size of the room. Since they room is small and there is not much
floor space, I may have to send some students out into the hallway.
Since the classroom does not have a carpet area, there will be some moving of seats. At this time the
students can get distracted and can cause a hectic transition. I can prevent this from happening by
moving the least amount of desks as possible, or even moving into the hallway.
Since the students are not used to being on the carpet for lessons, I will transition them back to their
seats by birth months.
Reflections: List at least three questions you will ask yourself after the lesson is taught.
(4a: Reflecting on Teaching)

*To be completed after lesson is taught

1. In general, how successful was the lesson? Did the students learn what you
intended for them to learn? How do you know?
I thought that out of all the formal observed lessons that I taught my class,
this one was my best one. I think the students really enjoyed my lesson,
and I was confident in my instruction. This lesson was to help them create
their posters for the invasive insect species project. The students have
been very engaged in this project so whenever we do something that
relates to it; I believe they are very willing to learn. With my instruction I
really think that the students grasp the concept of the lesson. I believe that
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the students learned what I wanted them to. The whole class except 2
students thought the better poster was actually the better poster. The 2
students thought the bad cook science poster was better. After explaining
they were able to tell me what the good one was better. Also looking at
their drat posters, they really grasped what I wanted a poster to look like.
2. If you have samples of student work, what do they reveal about the students
levels of engagement and understanding? Do they suggest modifications in how
you might teach this lesson in the future?
I was walking around and seeing what students thought of the two different
posters that I showed them. It was clear that with the exception of 2
students they gave the good poster a higher score on the 60 second
evaluation sheet. They were able to use this sheet to grade what they
thought of the poster. I can see that they were grading fairly and that they
put lots of thought into what grade they chose. It was clear that they were
giving the better poster higher grades. This automatically told me that they
really understood all the components of an effective poster that I taught
them about. I was also walking around and watching the students work on
their draft poster with their groups. They were applying all of the points
that I had mention and more importantly using the notes that they took
during my mini-lesson.
3. Comment on your classroom procedures, student conduct, and your use of
physical space. To what extent did these contribute to student learning?
First of all, I had to move some desks around before my lesson began.
Since there is not enough space in my room there is no carpet space. In
order to make a place for the students to sit, I have to move some desks
away from the center of the room. I had students who sat in the back of the
room join me on the carpet while students in the front stayed at their desk
to save some room. I wanted them on the carpet because I found that
when the students are closer to me they are more engaged and less likely
to be distracted. When I do my mini-lessons I try to keep them as close to
me as I can so they can keep their attention on to me. This also allows me
to see what the students are doing. Having them in one central location, I
can tell if a student is off task or not paying attention.
4. Did you depart from your plan? If so, how and why?
I did depart from my plan a little bit. Instead of giving out poster board
paper for the students to start their project on, I decided that I will give
them a draft poster they can design on. I thought of this during my prep
period before my lesson. I thought they students would benefit from
making a draft then showing me for approval then getting the final poster
board. This really challenges them to plan before continuing. I also decided
this because my lesson was on the day before spring break started. I did
not want students to start on their final poster project right before they
were going on break. This also has to do with the fact that after break
students go straight into PARCC. Other than that 1 change for the students
independent work time, I did not stray away from my plan.
5. Comment on different aspects of your instructional delivery (e.g., activities,
grouping of students, materials, and resources). To what extent were they
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effective?
I really think this was the best instructional delivery that I have done yet.
Originally I had groups that were about 6 or 7 people in a group but then I
realized that that is a lot of people especially if they are going to presenting
the poster. I decided to make 8 groups instead of 4 and have 3 or 4
students per group. I think this was a smarter decision because it is just
enough of people to complete the work, and it is also better for
communication. This also allowed for 2 groups to have the same insect
which creates a form of competition. The activity I had planned where
students used the 60 second evaluation was a hit. I think the students
really used the knowledge they gained from my mini-lesson and applied it
to grading the 2 different posters I had showed them. I also think they
enjoyed playing the teacher role and getting a chance to grade
something. In a way this was a small assessment of the students
understanding on the components of a poster and needless to say, they
understood it.

6. If you had an opportunity to teach this lesson again to the same group of
students, what would you do differently?
I was very content with the way my lesson turned out. There arent any big
parts that I would change. I think to make my lesson a little bit better, while
I was explaining the components of a poster I could have shown pictures as
examples. I also think I should have given the students tell me why they
thought poster 2 was the better and what criteria they evaluated the
poster on.
7. What were some of the things you discussed with cooperating teachers?
My cooperating teachers really enjoyed the lesson. They are excited to see
what they students come up with as their final project. They told me that it
is clear that every student in the class is engaged in this project because it
is tapping their interest. I think they were pleased with the lesson just as
much as I was.